The World Geography is dedicated to lists of trivia. We write about natural wonders, unusual tourist destinations and odd geographical facts. Also, every fact, destination or geographical term is accompanied with photo that has been chosen with great care.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

8 of the Most Unusual Tunnels in the World

The tunnels are mostly human creations that commonly pass through the mountains and hills. But there are tunnels that have a very unusual purpose, appearance or location. This is a list of tunnels that you can not see often, because they are rare or unique. That is why, some of them have become very popular tourist attractions.

One of the most curious building in Japan is the Gate Tower Building in Osaka, Japan. This building is the result of an unusual compromise between the land owner and the Japanese government. The 5th, 6th and 7th floors of this 16-story office building is occupied by an express highway - passing right through the building. On the building's floor information board on the ground floor, the tenants for the three floors are listed as the Hanshin Expressway.

The tunnel does not make contact with the building. Highway passes through as a bridge-tunnel, held up by supports next to the building. The highway is surrounded by a structure to protect the building from noise and vibration. [link1, link2, map]

The tree, which measured 275 feet (84 m) tall and 21 feet (6.4 m) in diameter, fell across a park road in 1937 due to natural causes. The following year, a crew cut an 8-foot (2.4 m) tall, 17-foot (5.2 m) wide tunnel through the trunk, making the road passable again. [link, map]

One of the most beautiful tunnels in World can be found near the city of Klevan in Ukraine - The Tunnel of Love. This is in fact a train tunnel of trees. It's the main attraction in the area and also one of the most beautiful places in Ukraine.

During the warm months of the year the trees planted next to each other form a fairy green tunnel along one kilometer (0.6 mi) long section of the railway. Not a lot of people seem to know very much about the tunnel, or have ever heard of it at all, making it a well-kept secret. [link, map]

Tunnel rock is located just inside the entrance to Sequoia National Park in Central California. A huge granite boulder beneath which the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) dug a tunnel for the roadway in 1938. The road now bypasses the 'tunnel' but visitors can walk beneath this "balanced rock". [link, map]

Journey to the undersea world of the 70 meter (230 ft) tunnel at the L'Oceanografic (marine park) in Valencia, Spain where the sea life becomes part of your life. The water moves around and above you as the illuminated lights reflect off the many fish swimming through this unique tunnel.

The blue and green hues of the water and the specially designed glass used for this tunnel, reflects tourists visiting and gives the impression of almost being part of the sea existence. If staring eye to eye with these fish is not enough excitement for you, wait until you come face to face with a shark, eel or stingray. Thousands of tourists stroll this incredible tunnel every year and explore the fascinating life of many different species of fish. [link, map]

A major design challenge was the noise of the public transit tracks passing over the lot. The solution was to enclose a 530-foot (160 m) section of the tracks in a stainless steel tube passing over the building. The tube's support structure is completely independent of the building's, to minimize vibration passing between them. [link, map]

Natural Tunnel is a massive naturally formed cave that is so large it is used as a railroad tunnel. The tunnel's 200-foot (61m) width is large enough to accommodate trains, so in 1906 Southern Railway established a passenger line that snaked under the natural structure. Today, the passenger rail is no longer in use, but freights continue to haul coal through the tunnel on a regular basis. The awe-inducing nature of the structure led William Jennings Bryan, 1896 presidential candidate and Woodrow Wilson's secretary of state, to declare it the eighth wonder of the world. [link, map]

The magnificent tunnel road in the Taihang mountains was built by 13 local villagers headed by their chief, Shen Mingxin, and took around five years to finish. This tunnel was opened to traffic in 1977. The 1200 meter (3,940ft) long Guoliang tunnel is about 5 meters (16ft) high and 4 meters (13ft) wide.

The tunnel passes through the side of an almost vertical section of a mountain with many holes that looks likes windows. Traveling this road is extremely thrilling because of the seemingly bottomless cliff right next to it. [link1, link2, map]